reviews

pxp
The sudden jolt of pxp peeled open all collected ears. Here was a jutting mass of
digitized disturbance that fueled our direct reckoning with destabilized mathematics.
Think of equations which create anarchy instead of assert order, and you?ve only
begun to approximate the experience of what it?s like to listen to pxp As these
unrelenting punctualities seemed to progress, it's divergence from pxp's Farmers
Manual-like alignments seemed malignant. Spam data malformations. Direct waveform
bitstream. Seizure. Disengage. Smitten.

::::::::::
PXP | while(p){print"."," "x$p++} [Wavetrap, CD]
Listening to 'while(p){print...' whilst travelling to Mutek 2002 in Montreal
is a curious experience. Its harsh distortion cutting abruptly to the
endless stream of automated airport announcements, it's the perfect marriage
of the intelligible and unintelligible. The sound of communication drifting
in and out of phase, a weak signal momentarily lapsing.
The audio, characterised by shards of data, raw waveforms and abrupt
digital landslides, is unquestionably a by-product of Farmers' Manual
peculiarly packet-driven vision. An uneven terrain of intermittent melody
parsed beyond recognition and polyrythmic acrobatics overlaid with
blanket-coverage static and hiss.
To list track titles would be pointless. A less than intelligble mass of
multiple-keystroke-characters culled from obscurity, their purpose is as
mere pointers, suggesting future data drifts from the infinite stream
of zeros and ones that comprise what constitutes communication in today's
information saturated world.
Appropriately 'while(p){print...' comes accompanied with a warning
that it "may generally contain impure data." Hardly surprising and instantly
verifiable - the procedure is simple: switch on and interlock with your
surrounding data-soaked environment; "...last call for Flight No. QT284 to
Montreal Durval, boarding at Gate 14. Would all passengers please proceed
immediately..."
[F]

Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2002 16:38:19 +0100
Subject: WAV04 - Absorb
album: pxp
while (p) {print"."," Òx$p++} (wavetrap)
avid social comment on the descent of communication from intellectual
debate to base level interactivity between machines, social
interaction's resurgence through creative machine orientated waveform
discourse, or just a couple of blokes fucking about with static. 'the
department for penetration and perversion' or, 'pxp' for short, have
obviously spent a long time twiddling their knobs.
for those interested in waveform manipulation, and dc offsets,
dynamics and cutting extremism, this is essential, for someone after
music in its less random progression, this ain't axelrod.
'while (p)....' borders on self-indulgent, mindless crap, but after a
while it becomes incredibly hypnotic, and manages to make something
so utterly mechanical and....well, static, actually quite listenable,
and with intricate angular beats aplenty, it's a real prize for all
noise heads. though, it may be an idea to listen to things like dj
scud, hrvatski, venetian snares, speedranch, atomsmasher etc before
veering off down this otherwise intangible web-road of noise.
interesting to listen for a whole 17 track albums worth, but....
where the hell am i? and what have they done to my mind?!
reviewed by ralph cowling

pxp while(p){print".",""x$p++}.(Wavetrap) wav 004
RELEASE DATE:.June 2002
If Kraftwerk built their own synthesisers, then pxp made the components.
This 17-track collection of blips, bleeps and polyrhythmic sound filters
are the unlikely sound of your office equipment having a chimpanzee's
tea party. There's no musicality to be found on this release, merely the
haunting, lonely drones of analogue filters, wave transmissions, DC
offsets and perhaps mobile phones, who knows? The overall effect however
is distinctly queasy listening. The sound of bare-naked technology is
desolate and haunting when strung together like this, eerie and
frightening, would be two other more sobering descriptions. I'll never
look at my fax machine in quite the same way after this.

PXP | WHILE(P){PRINT"."," "X$P++}
CD, Wavetrap / Staalplaat
How far can you go? Call it glitch-to-the-xtreme, call it extreme computer
music (that's what the bio prescribes), call it what you will. Fact is that
not too many people would consider PXP music. Fuck, the first track is
minutes and minutes of loud static, and only static. I'm used to some
serious experimentation in sound, but this goes too far, even for my
standards. I also think it's a bit too easy, because the static isn't
representative for the entire album. As the album continues, the static
steadily decreases in favor of electronic noises and dubby echoes. Sometimes
even a thing that reminds of a beat cares to drop by. Not for long,
unfortunately. With a bit more musical structure it would have been a much
more enjoyable event. And except for the first track, the rest of the
musical efforts are not as extreme as for exampleTeleform, who managed to
create a complete album bordering the fine line between music and sound. One
thing stands out: PXP is the embodiement of human absence. The computer has
taken over, no need for human emotions whatsoever. Seen from that point of
view, PXP draws a frightening landscape filled with grey concrete factories
and huge computers, with no place for mankind. Scary stuff.
by Bas Ickenroth